Quick Shots: Chicago Bears embracing shotgun formation

Jay Cutler threw 41 of his 47 passes out of the shotgun formation. Of the six that weren’t, he was 0-for-3 with an interception on the first three and 3-for-3 for 80 on the last three.

Matt Trowbridge

Random thoughts on Chicago’s loss at Detroit:

Alshon Jeffery has to stay inbounds on that 36-yard pass at the end of the half. The Bears, trailing 30-10, needed a TD, not a field goal. ... Jay Cutler threw 41 of his 47 passes out of the shotgun formation. Of the six that weren’t, he was 0-for-3 with an interception on the first three and 3-for-3 for 80 on the last three. ...

Chicago’s more wide-open offense certainly suits Matt Forte. SI.com named Forte (320 yards rushing, 4.6 average, 160 receiving) it’s All-Pro running back after four games. ... How could the Saints waste Reggie Bush as a third-down back? He’s electric between the tackles. ... Ndamukong Suh has returned to All-Pro form after two years of being known more for his bad behavior.

Cleveland logic
The Browns trade Trent Richardson and bench Brandon Weeden, their two first-round draft picks from last year, and go from 0-2 to tied for first place in two weeks. Imagine how good they could be if they got rid of all of their players.

Counting rings
Too many critics measure quarterbacks by their Super Bowl ring size. That’s crazy. How “elite” is Eli Manning now that he leads the NFL in interceptions (9) and turnovers (77) the past four years?

Or Ben Roethlisberger now that he leads the NFL in fumbles (5)? Or with Joe Flacco throwing five interceptions even though the Bills were missing both starting cornerbacks?

The three $100-million QBs rank 20th (Roethlisberger), 27th (Flacco) and 28th (Eli Manning) in passer rating. Yet just three weeks ago, Terry Bradshaw picked Eli over Peyton because he had an extra ring.

Spiking too early
The Steelers spiked the ball three times on their final drive: at the 32 with 1:18 left, the 20 with 59 seconds left and the 6 with 22 seconds left. Did they never hear of calling two plays in the huddle?

The strategy sort-of worked, as Pittsburgh converted two third downs before losing on a sack and a fumble from the 6, but teams usually run out of downs before running out of time when they spike the ball that early.